The great thing about Americans, is that we embrace a new idea, or a new product with gusto. We also have a bad habit of overdoing things. Eventually, we get to some kind of balance, but it’s quite a ride! We do it with food, fashion, philosophies, educational trends – you name it!

Enter soy protein. Have you ever wondered why such a heavily studied food source is so controversial? Soy is a godsend for vegetarians – it has all nine amino acids needed for protein metabolism. It is an excellent substitute for dairy allergic people. And for those who want to increase
their protein, but not increase the meat in their diet soy provides an easily digestible choice. Yet others contend that it is actually dangerous and harmful to human health. Why?

In order to better comprehend the great soy debate, understand how the scientific community works. If something is found to be good, then the next question is: can it be bad? If so, how bad? Grant money is not awarded to prove what we do know, but what is still unknown and controversial. A research scientist doesn’t advance her career confirming old data. Those that fund studies are often
looking for marketing angles. That, in and of itself is not wrong, it’s part of how money for studies is generated. Before reporter or consumer jumps to conclusions based on a study or even a couple of studies, know the background of the study and its source.

It’s also important to know, that research looks only at a single mechanism at a time. It takes numerous studies to complete a picture. Waiting 15 years for a scientific question to be answered is too long for the content hungry 24/7 news industry.

I personally believe that part of the “Soy is evil” mentality that has sporadically shown up on blogs and websites since around 2000, is the proverbial pendulum swing. As the soy benefits were being discovered, consumer demand for soy increased, and so soy went into everything! Textured vegetable protein, a heavily processed form of soy, went into a number of processed foods, even fish sticks, as a way to increase profit margins. That was clearly excessive use of soy. One’s whole diet should not
be soy centric. It is bad for any diet to be focused on a particular food source or food group. That is just common sense.

A recent search of Pub Med showed 1,861 studies on soy protein alone. Some were looking for carcinogenic effects. Some used synthetic soy compounds, which is not the same natural soy molecules. Some used mice in the studies, and -surprise! Mice are not humans, and only 10% of mice studies can be directly related to humans. Hard to sensationalize the truth, isn’t it?

But the majority of studies have clearly shown that soy is beneficial as a natural hormone replacement for women, to increase bone density, build healthy cells, create a balanced lipid (cholesterol) profile, brain development, and anti-cancer and cancer prevention properties.

Shaklee published a Landmark study on its supplement users, and I know many of the study subjects and they are heavy soy protein consumers. Shaklee was an early adopter of soy and in fact, created the first soy protein isolate in 1970. Guess what?

Shaklee customers have been safely using Shaklee soy protein for 40 years. If there were any toxicity issues, it would have shown up in this population, and been revealed in the four studies Shaklee conducted on soy protein use in humans (not mice).

Some of the complaints about soy include:

1) it was an industrial crop
2) the phytoestrogens (plant-based estrogens) are harmful, and may stimulate feminizing characteristics in boys
3) it is acidic, and throws the body out of balance

Here are some quick answers:

1) Peanuts were an industrial crop too, as were rape seeds which is a canola oil source.  Corn is a heavily used industrial crop.  That food sources also have commercial value beyond nutrition shows the incredible power of plants, not that they are necessarily  “poison”!

2) Phytoestrogens are 100 times weaker than human hormones. They compete for the estrogen receptors in both men and women. This helps the body with a natural hormone balance and explains why women in Japan and other Asian nations with heavy soy diets do not experience the menopausal symptoms Western women do. Any extra phyotestrogens are easily metabolized by the body and excreted.

3) Soy is acidic. That’s why the preparation of the soy product is important, and why textured vegetable protein and other heavily processed soy foods should be avoided. Soy should be blended with calcium for that very reason. All Shaklee soy proteins are blended with calcium for balance.

I strongly recommend that if you want to incorporate soy into your diet that you use Shaklee soy products, and fermented products like miso, or tofu. Our family uses soy milk heavily since we are dairy allergic, with no ill effects. We avoid textured vegetable protein, soy cereal, and unnecessary soy substitutes.

For more information on Shaklee Soy: Click here

Please contact me with any questions or comments.

Copyright March 2010 by Karen Miner Hurd

I don’t think that I can remember a time in history when there was so much discussion (and heated debate) about health. The whole focus of the political debate has been on, not so much on real health, but on what happens after you get sick.

It’s the wrong discussion.

Let’s start with health. What does it really mean to be healthy? For years, the medical profession, and the general public, has defined health as “not sick” or merely the absence of disease. But is that all there is? Isn’t there more?

When you think about health, what comes to mind? What are “health symptoms”?

Let’s try these for starters:

1) Energy – Rest cycle is in balance. You wake up refreshed. You maintain good healthy
energy throughout the day.  You sleep well at night.

2) Resist infections- if something is going around the office or the kids are sharing a bug,
you probably won’t get it. If you do get sick, your symptoms are not as severe, it doesn’t last as
long, and you recover quickly.

3) Quick recovery from injuries. In some cases, recovery is 50% faster than expected. If
you’re athletic, your rate of injury is less because your body is protected and nurtured.

4) Emotional balance. Thoughts and emotions have are significantly impacted by your biochemistry.  A healthy nourished body, a fit body, is more able to cope with the stresses of life.
You will be happier and have a positive out And that annoying neighbor won’t be so irritating.

5) Purpose and passion. Health often manifests itself as a clear purpose and vision for life.

Your health status is the engine of your life. As powerful as health is, we often take it
for granted. Too many of us make healthy choices an afterthought. Like saving for retirement
in your twenties can make you a millionaire in your golden years, investing in your health
now, before chronic disease strikes will pay you rich dividends in cost savings, vitality,
quality of life and longevity.

Choose to invest in your health.  Your life depends on it. _________________________________________________________________________

About the author: Karen Miner Hurd has questioned the status quo from an early age.  She and her husband Dale live in Virginia Beach, VA  with their children and  Bomber the Birthday Dog.  Karen dedicated herself to teaching others about health after her supplement program allowed her to be symptom and medication free despite 35 allergies.  Her doctor called her results a placebo affect, so she fired him.  She recommends Shaklee products exclusively. Contact her : karen@gohealthygo.com or by phone : 757-301-1855.  Visit her Shaklee site here.

Aging is inevitable. However, the ravages of aging and disease are not.    You can slow down your biological clock – so that your biological age  is as much as 25 years or more behind your calendar age.  Here are 5 quick tips you can start doing today:

1) Liquid protection – water. Were you hoping for something more exotic?  Water is nature’s liquid protection and detoxifying agent.  Your body is over 70% water, and you lose over 1 quart a day just by breathing!  Drink at least 6 glasses of purified
water per day- 8 is better. Sorry, coffee, herbal tea, soda and energy drinks don’t count.  Flush out toxins, increase your metabolism, increase brain function and joint health too. A great anti-aging tool that is just pennies per day.

2) Getting 5 servings a day? North Americans know what to eat, we just don’t do it!  Eat at least 5 servings of vegetables a day. Make 3 of them raw. Raw veggies have extra enzymes, vitamins, and other nutrients that cooked veggies don’t. Veggies reduce cancer risk, reduce food cravings and provide precious anti-aging anti-oxidants.  1 cup of raw veggies = 1 serving.  If one of your servings is  a salad- go easy on the dressing!

3) Exercise- the ultimate anti-aging strategy. Exercise detoxifies, builds muscle, transport nutrients, relieves stress, lowers cholesterol and makes you look younger. Make sure you are doing a combination of aerobic, weight/resistance training, and stretching. If your preferred exercise is walking, shoot for 10,000 steps per day.  Even just 15 minutes of exercising  per day begins to slow down the aging process.

4) Build your  muscles! We hear alot about osteoporosis, but very little about sarcopenia, the aging and wasting away of your muscle mass. Muscle mass goes hand in hand with  healthy bones, healthy heart, and healthy blood vessels.  Along with exercise, make  sure you are getting a lot of soy or whey protein and extra leucine.  Leucine is an amino acid that helps build muscle, and resists the tearing down of muscle. Unfortunately, leucine tastes awful.  The solution? Cinch protein shakes!  A combination of soy (or whey)  protein enhanced with extra leucine, Cinch® has been clinically shown in 3 studies to build lean muscle mass on 100% of users.  If you’re using Cinch®, remember that it’s a meal replacement.  Looking for a good soy protein supplement? Try the Shaklee soy protein family.  Inexpensive, pure, acid-balanced soy protein.  GMO free.

5) Have you heard  about resveratrol? Reservatrol is what makes red wine a heart healthy beverage.  Turns out it has incredible health properties beyond your heart! Over 2,000 studies have been done recently on resveratrol.  It has been shown to increase the longevity of every organism it has been tried on, by at least 25%. In humans, that could mean an increase of life-span by about 25 years (In a perfect world.  No bungee jumping.)  It increases the effectiveness and quantity of your adult stem cells, which are important for healing and body repair.  Studies show it to be remarkably effective on a number of issues: cholesterol, brain function, DNA protection, type 2 diabetes and more.  And another great benefit? More energy and clearer thinking!

18 months ago, Shaklee introduced Vivix®- an amazing resveratrol blend that combats all 4 major agers. Vivix® is now Shaklee’s number 1 selling product. 1 teaspoon a day is the anti-oxidant equivalent of 100 glasses of red wine!   Have you tried it yet?

And the bonus anti-aging tip comes from Henry Ford -

Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.